Telecaster overdrive lead tone

andyp13

andyp13

Power User
Got a 1999 Custom Shop Telecaster (63 closet classic) today. Plugged into my Axe xl and went through a few Amps (I'm using guitar cabs, so no cab blocks used) and wow, some of the tones I was getting just blew me away. Some of the amps had a lovely breakup and again sounded fantastic, from warm to nice and bright without ever being shrill.
I am however having a bit of trouble getting a good fat overdriven lead sound (even whitch the tone turned way down), it just sounds false, and not full..... can anyone help?
 
Not really what the Tele excels at. I can get in the ballpark on the neck pup, but it's still not really its bag.
 
Play around with different amps and different cabs.
I have a Tele and lead sounds are great when you get the right combo..
 
slinky005 said:
Play around with different amps and different cabs.
I have a Tele and lead sounds are great when you get the right combo..
Click to expand...

I don't use cab blocks as I use guitar cabs. My clean and slightly Brocken sounds are great, but I just can't get that lead sound to be nice and full. On the bridge pup it's too thin and notes undefined and the neck pup to thick and also undefined.
Will keep experimenting, I just wondered if anyone already had it Sussed maybe they could post the settings or give me some help/advice etc...
 
to me its kind of part of the Tele's charm. As for undefined, i don't get that at all...if anything a Tele's bridge lead tones are very cutting and defined, too much for some. What guitar are you used to playing?
 
andyp13 said:
My main guitar is a strat with EMGs and a humbucker in the bridge, I am aware that the tele is a different sound but I have heard some big tele lead tones - just been listening to this
http://youtu.be/Y-c8oqjvajY
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I´m also interested in this!

But the leadsound in this Video is also NeckPU!

It´s easier to get a "fat" Leadtone with an Strat - Bridge PU, don´´t know why........
 
have also a custom shop tele, mine has a humbucker neck pickup. played it live yesterday night. which drive are u using for the lead tone, neck pick up should get u there with some low cut, either in the drive block or in amp or with a PEQ block after the amp...it gets easily muddy on the neck pick up, but yes u need it for a nice singing lead tone.
 
andyp13 said:
I am however having a bit of trouble getting a good fat overdriven lead sound (even whitch the tone turned way down), it just sounds false, and not full..... can anyone help?
Click to expand...
Just been through this conundrum. Last week I fitted a 4way pick selector switch: bridge, bridge and neck in parallel, neck, plus bridge and neck in series. The series setting sounded fine through my monitor (Matrix Q12), using the same lead settings as I use for a McCarty. It also had a bit of volume lift which I found useful. The sound was like a neck humbucker with the tone knob backed off a quarter. I don't know what it sounded like through the PA. We videoed the gig with a static camera, so there should be a few clips coming out.
 
Yup, that video is all neck pickup on the first track. The highs are also quite attenuated and that makes the sound subjectively 'thicker'.
 
Why don't you think about tonematching your telecaster "against" a typical humbucker guitar? A pre-amp-EQ could also get you in the game...
 
You might try what i do for leads. I use a null filter block in front with variable gain depending on the amp to fatten it up and then I use a passive 5-band GEQ with some bump in the mid/hi-mid and some cut on the hi and low to give it a little more shape.
 
It just depends on the guitar.. I have a Nocaster that can compete w/ a Les Paul for huge fat tone when on the bridge pickup w/ the tone rolled down a bit. I would also consider mtmartin71's advice above regarding using a GEQ as he described. I use a similar setting for pushing the mids and cutting the lows and highs just a little and have it assigned to an IA switch on the MFC. I use it off and on all the time to fatten up my tone for solos or single lines, etc. Works particularly well for single coils..
 
Gonna give this a go, any sugested settings?
So if I have a filter set to null but the volume up a bit before the amp and alter the graphic in the amp. With the amp set to a mild breakup, so when I engage the filter it will push it into overdrive, is that correct?
 
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